100th anniversary of Metz fire commemorated

by Peter Jakey– Managing Editor

A standing-room crowd of more than 300 people attended a memorial service Sunday at St. Dominic Catholic Church to honor the 100th anniversary of the Metz fire, which took place October 15, 1908. People filled every pew in the church, the balcony and stood against the walls all the way to the front altar. Much like a century ago, when people from the surrounding area converged on the area to offer relief with clothing and food in the days after the fire, folks came from far and wide this week to remember the lives lost, or the families torn apart.

A candle for each of the 37 victims lost in the fire was lit during the service. Memorial roses were given to each family member. For victims not represented by a family member, the roses were placed in a vase next to the candles.

?I AM DEEPLY, deeply touched,? said Sister Rita Epple, after the service. ?Overwhelmed, really. I?m not surprised at the number that came. We are estimating about 300 people and the church holds only 200. ?During that moment of silence, when all the candles were lit, and those roses were there, we didn?t need another prayer, as I expressed. I think that moment touched a lot of people. It did Metz proud today.? Epple said the idea for the candle lighting was born from a yearly church remembrance at St. Dominic that takes place on All Souls Day, when a candle is lit for members of the church who died during the year. ?It certainly was powerful,? said Epple.

Rev. Gerald Micketti, who has chronicled the events of 1908 in a book, was one of two keynote speakers during the service. His speech was entitled: ?Metz: The Phoenix Rises.? He remembers a Saturday in the early 1990s, when he was serving as a member of the clergy in Metz, when Metz fire survivor Walter Centala walked into the church and said there weren?t too many people in the sanctuary that knew what that day was. It dawned on Micketti that it was October 15, the anniversary of the fire. ?When those older folks gathered, the fire always came up,? he said. ?They never forgot.?

MICKETTI SAID it was an election year, with William Howard Taft running against William Jennings Brian. ?Out of the north comes the news of this fire,? said Micketti. ?It made the New York Times. Whoever heard of Metz, Michigan beyond Presque Isle County? Nobody.? He said, ?There were people standing around looking at ash piles or cinders, and seeing all their hopes and dreams, and everything about their lives, completely disappear in less than 24 hours.?

The fire started somewhere west of the Village of Millersburg the morning of Oct. 15, burning out along the Lake Huron shoreline later that evening. It burned as far north as Hammond Bay and as far south as the city limits of Alpena. Micketti added that Metz disappeared faster than the story could be told.

?Think of 100 years ago, people standing around, looking at everything they owned, and every possession they brought from the old country, whether it be Poland or Germany ? it?s gone,? said Micketti. ?How would you react? How would you respond?? Micketti said the governor visited the area and commented that the immigrants who came from Europe would have to start their lives over again. ?Not everyone started over,? said Micketti. ?A surprising number stayed, though. An amazing number, given what lay ahead of them, when they had absolutely nothing except the skin on their bones. Some of you here are the beneficiaries of the people who didn?t want Metz to disappear. It grows from the ashes like a phoenix.?

GERALD GRAMBAU, who attended the memorial service 50 years ago at St. Dominic, was told of his grandfather?s reaction to the devastation. ?It reminded my grandfather of the time he came from Germany with his father,? said Grambau. ?When they came here, one of their prime objectives was land. They secured the land and started from scratch. We?ve been through this before. We can replace the things that are gone, but the land is still ours.? By Christmastime they built a place and received hay and grain from the s

tate.? Grambau shared the story about how his family survived the flames and how the artifacts from St. Peter Lutheran Church were recovered. He said a crucifix, which has been restored and was on display this weekend, was found in a ditch across the road from what was left of the original church building, the first building to go. A bible also escaped destruction and is now in a glass case. After St. Peter burned, the fire continued right through the once-thriving business district. Visiting clergy in attendance included Rev. Charles Donajkowski, Rev. Clarence Smolinski, Rev. Waldimer Gies, and Rev. Lloyd Ziebarth.

In the St. Dominic Hall building, which survived the fire, but was relocated from Centala Road, a luncheon was put on by the Posen Knights of Columbus. Along with the artifacts, there were several pictures, a digital slide show, along with DVD?s and books for sale. The bus tour was well received, with waits of nearly an hour. The tours by Mark Thompson and Neil Altman were supposed to last until 5 p.m. but didn?t conclude until after that time. The tours visited burial sites and the location of the gondola car disaster near Hagensville Road.